This invention relates to a new and improved proximity warning device for protection of a parked vehicle.
A proximity warning device for protection of a parked vehicle is generally a device mounted on the vehicle to sense imminent contact of the parked vehicle with another body, typically another vehicle in the process of parking curbside in front of or behind the parked vehicle, and to actuate a warning signal to alert the driver of the parking vehicle to the imminent contact. A number of warning devices for vehicles for this and other purposes are known. Reference may be had, for example, to U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,957,059; 3,012,225; 3,037,187; 3,409,874; 3,510,837; 3,774,149; 3,946,360; 4,070,645; 4,103,284; 4,278,962; and 4,855,736. Of these, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,070,645 (Oreluk) and 3,037,187 (Blakistone) may be of especial interest though, when considered with appropriate particularity, they are quite different from the present invention.
Oreluk discloses a warning system including a wand or rod and a mechanism for pivotably coupling the wand to a support arm extending from an automobile. The coupling mechanism includes a circuit for actuating a switch, coupled to the horn of the vehicle, so that the horn sounds whenever the wand is contacted and moved by another vehicle. A spring defines the normally quiescent state of the warning system. Blakistone discloses a similar warning system including a wand and a switch actuating member; a spring normally maintains the wand in its quiescent state.
It is an object of the invention to provide a new and improved proximity warning device for protection of a parked vehicle. Specific objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following descriptions.